Nationwide practice in CT-based preoperative staging of colon cancer and concordance with definitive pathology.

INTRODUCTION: In an era of exploring patient-tailored treatment options for colon cancer, preoperative staging is increasingly important. This study aimed to evaluate completeness and reliability of CT-based preoperative locoregional colon cancer staging in Dutch hospitals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent elective oncological resection of colon cancer without neoadjuvant treatment in 77 Dutch hospitals were evaluated between 2011 and 2021. Completeness of T-stage was calculated for individual hospitals and stratified based on a 60% cut-off. Concordance between routine CT-based preoperative locoregional staging (cTN) and definitive pathological staging (pTN) was examined. RESULTS: A total of 59,558 patients were included with an average completeness of 43.4% and 53.4% for T and N-stage, respectively. Completeness of T-stage improved from 4.9% in 2011-2014 to 74.4% in 2019-2021. Median completeness for individual hospitals was 53.9% (IQR 27.3-80.5%) and were not significantly different between low and high-volume hospitals. Sensitivity and specificity for T3-4 tumours were relatively low: 75.1% and 76.0%, respectively. cT1-2 tumours were frequently understaged based on a low negative predictive value of 56.8%. Distinction of cT4 and cN2 disease had a high specificity (>95%), but a very low sensitivity (<50%). Positive predictive values of <60% indicated that cT4 and cN1-2 were often overstaged. Completeness and time period did not influence reliability of staging. CONCLUSION: Completeness of locoregional staging of colon cancer improved during recent years and varied between hospitals independently from case volume. Discriminating cT1-2 from cT3-4 tumours resulted in substantial understaging and overstaging, additionally cT4 and cN1-2 were overstaged in >40% of cases.

Diagnostic accuracy of the AGA, IAP, and European guidelines for detecting advanced neoplasia in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm/neoplasia.

BACKGROUND: Follow-up in patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) aims to detect advanced neoplasia (high-grade dysplasia/cancer) in an early stage. The 2015 American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), 2017 International Association of Pancreatology (IAP), and the 2018 European Study Group on Cystic tumours of the Pancreas (European) guidelines differ in their recommendations on indications for surgery. However, it remains unclear which guideline is most accurate in predicting advanced neoplasia in IPMN. METHODS: Patients who underwent surgery were extracted from a prospective database (January 2006-January 2021). In patients with IPMN, final pathology was compared with the indication for surgery according to the guidelines. ROC-curves were calculated to determine the diagnostic accuracy for each guideline. RESULTS: Overall, 247 patients underwent surgery for cystic lesions. In 145 patients with IPMN, 52 had advanced neoplasia, of which the AGA guideline would have advised surgery in 14 (27%), the IAP and European guideline in 49 (94%) and 50 (96%). In 93 patients without advanced neoplasia, the AGA, IAP, and European guidelines would incorrectly have advised surgery in 8 (8.6%), 77 (83%) and 71 (76%). CONCLUSION: The European and IAP guidelines are clearly superior in detecting advanced neoplasia in IPMN as compared to the AGA, albeit at the cost of a higher rate of unnecessary surgery. To harmonize care and to avoid confusion caused by conflicting statements, a global evidence-based guideline for PCN in collaboration with the various guidelines groups is required once the current guidelines require an update.

Delayed emergency healthcare seeking behaviour by Dutch emergency department visitors during the first COVID-19 wave: a mixed methods retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Emergency department (ED) visits due to non-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) conditions have drastically decreased since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to identify the magnitude, characteristics and underlying motivations of ED visitors with delayed healthcare seeking behaviour during the first wave of the pandemic. METHODS: Between March 9 and July 92,020, adults visiting the ED of an academic hospital in the East of the Netherlands received an online questionnaire to collect self-reported data on delay in seeking emergency care and subsequent motivations for this delay. Telephone interviews were held with a subsample of respondents to better understand the motivations for delay as described in the questionnaire. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: One thousand three hundred thirty-eight questionnaires were returned (34.0% response). One in five respondents reported a delay in seeking emergency care. Almost half of these respondents (n = 126; 45.4%) reported that the pandemic influenced the delay. Respondents reporting delay were mainly older adults (mean 61.6; ±13.1 years), referred to the ED by the general practitioner (GP; 35.1%) or a medical specialist (34.7%), visiting the ED with cardiac problems (39.7%). The estimated median time of delay in receiving ED care was 3 days (inter quartile range  8 days). Respectively 46 (16.5%) and 26 (9.4%) respondents reported that their complaints would be either less severe or preventable if they had sought for emergency care earlier. Delayed care seeking behaviour was frequently motivated by: fear of contamination, not wanting to burden professionals, perceiving own complaints less urgent relative to COVID-19 patients, limited access to services, and by stay home instructions from referring professionals. CONCLUSIONS: A relatively large proportion of ED visitors reported delay in seeking emergency care during the first wave. Delay was often driven by misperceptions of the accessibility of services and the legitimacy for seeking emergency care. Public messaging and close collaboration between the ED and referring professionals could help reduce delayed care for acute needs during future COVID-19 infection waves.

New onset non-alcoholic fatty liver disease after resection of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatis (NASH) may occur after pancreatic resection due to exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). Patients with long-term survival, such as after pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET) resection, are at risk of NAFLD/NASH. We aimed to determine the incidence and risk factors for new onset NAFLD/NASH and EPI after pNET resection. METHODS: Retrospective monocenter cohort study. Patients who underwent pNET resection (1992-2016) were assessed for new onset NAFLD/NASH and EPI. Postoperative NAFLD/NASH was determined by a blinded abdominal radiologist, who compared pre- and postoperative imaging. RESULTS: Out of 235 patients with pNET, a total of 112 patients underwent resection and were included with a median follow-up of 54 months. New onset NAFLD/NASH occurred in 20% and EPI in 49% of patients. Multivariate analysis showed that the only risk factor for new onset NAFLD/NASH was recurrent disease (OR 4.4, 95% CI 1.1-16.8, P = 0.031), but not EPI (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.3-2.8, P = 0.911). The only risk factor for EPI was pancreatoduodenectomy (OR 4.3, 95% CI 1.4-13.7, P = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: New onset NAFLD/NASH is occasionally found after pNET resection, especially in patients with recurrent disease, but is not related to EPI.

Contrast-enhanced CT in determining resectability in patients with pancreatic carcinoma: a meta-analysis of the positive predictive values of CT.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain a summary positive predictive value (sPPV) of contrast-enhanced CT in determining resectability. METHODS: The MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from JAN2005 to DEC2015 were searched and checked for inclusion criteria. Data on study design, patient characteristics, imaging techniques, image evaluation, reference standard, time interval between CT and reference standard, and data on resectability/unresectablity were extracted by two reviewers. We used a fixed-effects or random-effects approach to obtain sPPV for resectability. Several subgroups were defined: 1) bolus-triggering versus fixed-timing; 2) pancreatic and portal phases versus portal phase alone; 3) all criteria (liver metastases/lymphnode involvement/local advanced/vascular invasion) versus only vascular invasion as criteria for unresectability. RESULTS: Twenty-nine articles were included (2171 patients). Most studies were performed in multicentre settings, initiated by the department of radiology and retrospectively performed. The I2-value was 68%, indicating heterogeneity of data. The sPPV was 81% (95%CI: 75-86%). False positives were mostly liver, peritoneal, or lymphnode metastases. Bolus-triggering had a slightly higher sPPV compared to fixed-timing, 87% (95%CI: 81-91%) versus 78% (95%CI: 66-86%) (p = 0.077). No differences were observed in other subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis showed a sPPV of 81% for predicting resectability by CT, meaning that 19% of patients falsely undergo surgical exploration. KEY POINTS: • Predicting resectability of pancreatic cancer by CT is 81% (95%CI: 75-86%). • The percentage of patients falsely undergoing surgical exploration is 19%. • The false positives are liver metastases, peritoneal metastases, or lymph node metastases.

Imaging characteristics of focal splenic and hepatic lesions in type 1 Gaucher disease.

In Gaucher disease (GD) imaging of liver and spleen is part of routine follow-up of GD patients. Focal lesions in both liver and spleen are frequently reported at radiological examinations. These lesions often represent benign accumulations of Gaucher cells, so-called "gaucheroma", but malignancies, especially hepatocellular carcinoma, are more frequently found in GD as well. We report the imaging characteristics of all focal lesions in liver and spleen in the Dutch GD cohort. Of the 95 GD1 patients, 40% had focal splenic and/or hepatic lesions, associated with more severe GD. Lesions identified as gaucheroma have variable imaging characteristics: hyper- to hypointense on MRI, hyper- or hypoechoic on US and hypodense on computed tomography (CT). Hepatic lesions were classified as simple cysts or haemangioma based upon imaging characteristics. Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH), gaucheroma and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) could not be distinguished by conventional US, CT or MRI. Growth of these lesions and/or characteristics of HCC on dynamic CT or MRI and pathology was used to identify or rule out HCC. We propose a decision-making algorithm including the use of growth and dynamic CT- or MRI-scanning to characterize lesions.

Clinical and radiological results 6 years after treatment of traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures with pedicle screw instrumentation and balloon assisted endplate reduction.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: When used to fixate traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures, pedicle screw constructs may fail in the presence of severe vertebral body comminution as the intervertebral disc can creep through the fractured endplates leading to insufficient anterior column support. Balloon-assisted endplate reduction (BAER) and subsequent calcium phosphate cement augmentation may prevent this event by restoring the disc space boundaries. The results of the first studies using BAER after pedicle screw fixation are encouraging, showing good fracture reduction, few complications, and minimal loss of correction at 2 years of follow-up. PURPOSE: To present the clinical and radiological outcome of 20 patients treated for traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures with pedicle screws and BAER after a minimum of 6 years follow-up. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective trial. PATIENT SAMPLE: Twenty consecutive neurologically intact adult patients with traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures were included. OUTCOME MEASURES: Radiological parameters (wedge/Cobb angle on plain radiographs and mid-sagittal anterior/central vertebral body height on magnetic resonance imaging scans) and patient reported parameters (EQ-5D and Oswestry Disability Index) were used. METHODS: All patients had previously undergone pedicle screw fixation and BAER with calcium phosphate cement augmentation. The posterior instrumentation was removed approximately 1.5 years after index surgery. Radiographs were obtained preoperatively, postoperatively, after removal of the pedicle screws, and at final follow-up (minimum 6 years post-trauma). Magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained preoperatively, 1 month after index surgery, and 1 month after pedicle screw removal. Health questionnaires were filled out during the last outpatient visit. RESULTS: The pedicle screw instrumentation was removed uneventfully in all patients and posterolateral fusion was observed in every case. The mean wedge and Cobb angle converged to almost identical values (5.3° and 5.8°, respectively) and the mid-sagittal anterior and central endplates were reduced to approximately 90% and 80% of the estimated preinjury vertebral body height, respectively; this reduction was sustained at follow-up. Patient-reported outcomes showed favorable results in 79% of the patients. One patient required (posterior) reoperation due to adjacent osteoporotic vertebral body collapse after pedicle screw removal. CONCLUSIONS: Balloon-assisted endplate reduction is a safe and low-demanding adjunct to pedicle screw fixation for the treatment of traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures. It may help achieve minimal residual deformity and reduce the number of secondary (anterior) procedures. Despite these positive findings, one in five patients experienced daily discomfort and disability.